Ming Dynasty: Summoning game players at the beginning

Chapter 196 Officers and Soldiers Are Born with the Ability to Love

While the soldiers and the beggars were fighting fiercely, the farmers on the border of Gucheng County were worried about the food problem caused by the spring famine.

Wang Chengqi's family consists of seven people: his wife, eldest son, second son, third daughter, youngest son, and his bedridden mother.

The winter wheat is not yet fully mature, and his family’s food reserves are already running low.

Even so, I still have to exchange food rations and handicrafts for herbs to treat my mother's illness.

He said he was sick, but in fact he was just hungry. He would recover by eating full meals for a few days.

But for a poor farmer, if he feeds one person for several days in a row, his whole family will go hungry.

The heavy taxes and levies were like a mountain pressing down on their shoulders, leaving them unable to accumulate any money or grain to fight the risks.

A family can be bankrupted if the government imposes miscellaneous taxes, a family member falls ill, or able-bodied men are forced to do forced labor.

Last year, the West Camp stationed in Gucheng rebelled again, killing all the bureaucrats and clerks in the city. The autumn harvest was eaten up by the people themselves, which really made life much easier for the lower-class people.

However, at the beginning of the year, a high-ranking official came to Xiangyang and took charge of the area. Soon after his arrival, he doubled the grain collection from all counties.

The official said that if the people suffered more, the beggars could be completely pacified in a year or two at most.

Wang Chengqi didn't know the big picture or the big chess moves of the big shots, he only knew that what the government said was bullshit.

It was said previously that the suppression pay would only be collected for a few years, but now it is still being collected.

The second salary has not been abolished, and now the training salary is added.

When the third tax came, the good days that Wang Chengqi and his family had continued to fight against the Western Creation came to an end in an instant.

For now, they can only endure for a while. Except for the men who work, the rest of the people only have one meal and usually lie in bed and do little exercise.

As for the food and medicine for his mother's treatment, his wife suggested that he borrow money from Zhou Daba, but he immediately refused, "We have been frugal for several years to pay off the debt to Zhou Paopi, how can we be cheated again."

"But it's my illness."

"Hmm..." Wang Chengqi turned his head to glance at the room and sighed, "I'll think of something."

The eldest son came over and said, "Dad, Mom, I heard the beggars have reached Nanyang. They might reach us in a few months."

"That's bad. Soldiers and bandits will kill people indiscriminately if they have a disagreement." The child's mother looked terrified, as if she recalled the horror of the soldiers passing through the border. The family could only flee into the mountains in a panic.

"Mother, the beggars are righteous men, good people! Even the three-year-old children in the village are singing, 'Open the city gates to welcome the Heavenly King, the Heavenly King has come to distribute the crops equally.'"

Every time the beggars kill a prince, they distribute money and food to the poor. If they reach Xiangyang and kill the prince, our family will also get some food..."

"Shut up!" Wang Chengqi quickly covered the boss's mouth, pinching the back of his neck like a kitten. He then turned his head and looked around, making sure there were no outsiders around before saying, "Are you trying to kill yourself? If anyone hears and tells on you, the police will take you to the county town and execute you."

The boss felt a sharp pain in the back of his neck as his nails dug deep into his skin.

My father's eyes and face seemed to have changed. His expression of fear and anger was like that of a tiger.

"You're going to lose your life, and you're going to bring trouble upon your whole family. Can you bear to see your brothers and sisters die because of you?"

"I don't want to..." The boss, who was covered with his hand, whimpered.

"You are not allowed to talk nonsense again in the future. Do you understand?"

"Woo woo..." The eldest brother nodded to show that he understood.

"There's no difference between the government troops and the bandits. They're all just good at talking. They say they'll give you food just to trick you into working for them, but when it's time to pay, they'll be kicking you out." Wang Chengqi let go of his hand, the muscles at the corners of his mouth twitching. "Instead of daydreaming, you should catch some fish for your grandmother."

"I understand." The boss lowered his head in grievance.

Just as Wang Chengqi was about to give a lecture, he heard shouting from not far away.

He looked in the direction of the sound and saw dozens of armed men surrounding a mule cart approaching the village entrance.

"They are soldiers!" Wang Chengqi determined the authenticity at a glance.

The child's mother retreated into the house skillfully, while the eldest child was still standing at the door, at a loss as to what to do.

"The bandits have suffered a series of heavy defeats and are retreating step by step. Now is the time to wipe them out with one swift move. The commander-in-chief has ordered us to go to the countryside to collect grain to support the army. If we can wipe out the bandits as soon as possible, we can also relieve you of the additional burden!"

The grain-collecting team passed through the village, their left hands on the hilts of their swords, shaking them back and forth, speaking friendly words, but their words revealed an authority that could not be refused.

"Didn't we just collect the military rations at the beginning of the spring?" The headman's face was filled with sorrow, his eyes almost narrowed into slits.

"You've eaten your fill today, but you won't eat tomorrow when you're hungry? We're also doing our job, so please don't make things difficult for us." The officer lowered his head and gestured to the sword hanging from his left waist, forcing the village chief to swallow the words in his throat. He then raised his right hand and waved, "Requisition for grain!"

At the command of the team officer, dozens of officers and soldiers rushed into the farmers' homes like tigers pouncing on their prey to plunder food, which soon triggered a burst of wailing and crying.

The people begged the officers and soldiers to let them go. The whole family knelt at the door, kowtowed and begged humbly, trying to use their submissive attitude to awaken even 1% of sympathy in the officers and soldiers' hearts.

However, all this was in vain. The officers and soldiers entered the house and rummaged through the drawers and cabinets as if no one was around. Their skilled experience in collecting grain enabled them to find all kinds of tricky grain storage spots.

If officers and soldiers encountered anyone blocking their way, they would simply kick them away without even bothering to take a detour.

Wang Chengqi stood at the doorway with his back to the soldiers, not daring to look at the food the soldiers had taken away. His eldest son was so frightened that his legs were shaking, and he showed no sign of the excitement he had expected from the beggars.

Even if some brave civilians hugged the officers' thighs and begged desperately, they would be beaten and kicked. One householder was even stabbed through by an angry soldier for "harassing" the officers for too long, causing the deceased's family to cry out in despair.

"Anyone who obstructs the grain collection is a traitor and collaborator with the enemy! If you want to taste my sword, come forward!"

Several soldiers around the team officer took a few steps forward, and the swords at their waists were unsheathed three inches, scaring the villagers so much that they retreated again and again.

Some villagers who were begging in pain immediately fell silent, hugged each other and cried, suppressing the pain of having their food taken away.

"Master Commander is kind-hearted and has shown you a clear path. Anyone who can capture the beggar bandit leader Sula will be rewarded with ten thousand taels of silver! Anyone who captures a bandit centurion will be rewarded with fifty stone of grain! The path to survival is right in front of you, so decide for yourself."

The people were stunned when they heard this. They were just a bunch of poor and weak people, how could they have the strength to kill the bandits, let alone kill the bandit leader who was protected by thousands of bandits.

As the grain-collecting team slowly left, the villagers' hope of surviving the spring famine was shattered.

Even if each household hides a small amount of life-saving food, it is definitely not enough for the whole family.

If we harvest the wheat in advance, it would be like delaying suicide, but if we wait until the wheat is ripe, where can we find food during this spring famine?

The villagers stayed awake all night and finally decided to send representatives from their families out to ask for food.

Everyone knew that this was a forced move to save food rations for each person.

The government troops claimed that they had defeated the rebels, but rumors in the countryside said that the rebel army was attacking Nanyang overnight.

Wang Chengqi didn't know who was telling the truth. He only knew that Gucheng was not far from Nanyang, much closer than the distance people had to travel to escape famine in the past.

He also didn't know whether the rebel army was in Nanyang and whether they would be kind enough to give food to the victims.

Although this is a slim hope, if there is no hope left in one's heart, this life is almost over.

Dozens of men in the village set out on an unknown journey, listening to their families' wishes of "I'll wait for you to come back."

Wang Chengqi and others walked for more than ten miles. Along the way, they didn't see any fishing or hunting, and they didn't even see a few passers-by, let alone a market for trading.

The little "rations" they brought out of the house had long been eaten up, and they could only survive on wild vegetables, wild fruits, and tree bark. They walked for dozens of miles but still did not see any travelers on the official road.

Along the way, they saw many landlords' villages and gathered around them to beg the master to show some mercy, but all they got in return were scolding from the master's servants and fatal arrows.

Several people were hit by arrows and were obviously dying.

The wounded man was dying and begged, "Please be kind and find me a piece of land to bury me. I don't want to be eaten by wild dogs and become a wandering ghost..."

Everyone had no choice but to come to the bottom of a slope, watch the sunset, and wait for the villagers in the village to slowly die before burying them in the ground.

The villagers didn't know which master the land belonged to, so they buried the body secretly in the evening. They didn't dare to build a grave and put up a sign for their fellow villager. They tried their best to dig the land deeper and then fill it back to make it level.

After finishing all this hard work, Wang Chengqi and the others were so exhausted that they picked a piece of vacant land and fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, Wang Chengqi was awakened by the continuous shouting.

It was the roar and shouting of a gathering of thousands of people, as well as the sounds of music such as suona and pipa.

Wang Chengqi dragged his tired body to the top of the slope and stood up. Suddenly, he saw a team of tens of thousands of people marching southward.

Dozens of flags fluttered in the wind, and the procession of carriages and horses stretched for miles.

Wang Chengqi was not very literate, but he still saw two common words on a red flag: begging for a living.

It’s the Beggar Army!

Wang Chengqi thought about it and felt that something was not right. Wasn't the Qihuo Army attacking Nanyang? How could they have reached the territory of Xiangyang Prefecture? If they went further south from here, they would reach Fancheng. After crossing the Han River, they would reach the important city of Xiangyang.

The beggars' army has actually come this far, how can this be the continuous defeat that the government troops claim?

Wang Chengqi squinted his eyes and continued to observe, and saw thousands of civilians mixed with the beggars.

The people had neither weapons nor armor in their hands, but their faces were filled with happy smiles.

Wang Chengqi was not well educated, but when he saw the scene, he also had the idea of ​​"the people offering food and drink to welcome the royal army."

Are these the laborers who were organized by the Beggars' Army to transport food, or are they ordinary people from the surrounding areas who came to welcome them spontaneously?
"Wake up! It's the Beggar Army! The Beggar Army is coming!" Wang Chengqi shouted to wake up his fellow villagers, and felt an inexplicable force surging into his limbs.

His heart beat faster, and a sense of suspense lingered in his heart.

He was clearly looking for the Beggars, but when the real target came to him, he hesitated and did not dare to take a step forward.

He still didn't dare to believe the true behavior of the Beggar Army. What if the rebels thought he was a spy from the government army and killed him with a knife?

He was very afraid of death, but the images of his wife, daughter and old mother gradually appeared before his eyes.

He is the pillar of the family, and his family is waiting for his safe return.

Life or death depends on this step.

"Fight!"

Wang Chengqi gritted his teeth and rushed down the slope.

(End of this chapter)